The Montreal Canadiens made two trades shortly after selecting Juraj Slafkovsky at No. 1 in the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday. In the first, the Canadiens traded defenseman Alexander Romanov and the No. 98 pick to the New York Islanders for pick No. 13, and in the second, they flipped the No. 13 pick and the No. 66 pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Kirby Dach.

Romanov, 22, played in 79 games last season — his second in the NHL — logging three goals and 10 assists. Montreal selected him at No. 38 in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Dach, 21, was the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. He put up nine goals and 17 assists across 70 games last season, his third in the league.

The Blackhawks selected American Frank Nazar with the newly acquired No. 13 pick. They took defenseman Kevin Korchinski earlier in the night at No. 7.

The Canadiens still have the No. 26 pick as well. The Islanders have zero first-round picks remaining after dealing the 13th selection.

For more on the NHL Draft, follow The Athletic's live coverage here.

(Photo: Jean-Yves Ahern / USA Today)

GO DEEPER

Dissecting a momentous day in Blackhawks history – for better or for worse

GO DEEPER

NHL trade grades: Canadiens acquire Kirby Dach in three-team trade

GO DEEPER

Blackhawks' 2022 draft grades, analysis and fits

What does this mean for the Hawks' future in the short term?

Mark Lazerus, Blackhawks beat writer: The Blackhawks are tanking. Hard. Kyle Davidson has framed it as building for the future — which is true — but it's also flat-out tanking. They are trying to be as bad as possible next season so they have a chance at drafting Connor Bedard, and in the meantime, they're trying to acquire as many picks as possible to restock a pretty barren pipeline.

With Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, Brandon Hagel and presumably both Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik gone, next season is going to be absolutely brutal.

Advertisement

Is the return for Dach enough?

Lazerus: In theory, the 13th pick in what's considered a "weak" draft shouldn't be sufficient for the No. 3 pick in a recent draft, but the Blackhawks clearly had lost faith in Dach, whose defensive soundness didn't outweigh his lack of offense (he creates, but he can't finish) and inability to win a faceoff.

Dach's only 21, and he's already played three years in the NHL, so he's no slouch. He hasn't reached his ceiling yet, but the Blackhawks didn't think that ceiling was high enough to keep him around, anyway.

Assessing the trade deal for Montreal

Julian McKenzie, NHL staff editor: The Canadiens managed to acquire a top-15 pick with the Alexander Romanov trade, which seemed a lot more realistic than the idea of the Canadiens possibly trying to get another top-five selection. However, flipping that pick to get a young, big centre in Kirby Dach is the prize here.

Some fans will miss Romanov's youthful exuberance and physical play, but his offensive upside was still a question mark. The Canadiens get an opportunity to cultivate a 21-year-old centre who should still have room to grow. Frankly, fans have every right to wonder why his former team would deem him worth flipping away as they rebuild.

What will Habs do on D next season?

McKenzie: With Romanov's departure, there is now a hole on the left side for the Canadiens. Joel Edmundson was already the most seasoned left defender on the roster, but Romanov carried a bit more experience compared to Jordan Harris and Corey Schuenueman, and certainly compared to incoming defenseman Kaiden Guhle.

If the Canadiens don't opt to sign an experienced defender who can suit up on the left-hand side, the bleu-blanc-rouge could be icing a young defense corps seeking experience.